AAU President Plans to Step Down

Robert M. Berdahl, president of the Association of American Universities, announced today that he would retire from the post next May, when his contract is up. Mr. Berdahl has run the organization, which represents 63 U.S. and Canadian research universities, since 2006. He said in a written statement that “the calendar” had told him it was time to step down. Mr. Berdahl, 73, is trained as a historian, has served as chancellor of the University of California at Berkeley and president of the University of Texas at Austin, and said he intended to remain active in higher education.